good morning to you. thanks for being with us. i'm marla tellez. >> and i'm jon kelley. good morning, everybody. we begin with that developing story on the peninsula where that manhunt continues after a woman reportedly woke up to find a stranger right in her apartment bedroom. now, this incident taking place less than two miles from the stanford campus. nbc bay area's bob redell is at the scene right now in palo alto. he has the latest details. what are the police saying? >> reporter: good morning to you, jon. detectives with palo alto police tell us a man tried to sexually assault a woman as she slept inside her apartment here an hawthorne. and he was willing and able to force his way in through a door that was both locked and chained shut. a canine dog tracked his scent for a short time this morning but he managed to escape. one challenge is coming up with a detailed description. the woman doesn't know her attacker. it was dark inside her apartm t apartment.

she tells police he was of an average build and wearing dark clothes. she woke to find him standing over her in her bed around 2:00 this morning. he tried to force her back down onto the bed. there was a struggle. she scared him off and he fled out the front door, direction unknown. she immediately called 911. police say they arrived within two minutes. detectives have been interviewing her at the police station this morning. one tells us she is extremely shaken but outside of a hurt wrist, physically okay. >> we'll go back to the chain of events that she was involved with before this occurred. where was she? who was she talking? was she shopping? we'll go through all of that to see if she was followed. if it's someone that specifically did pick her out or did she park her car and someone was in the neighborhood and saw her and followed her? we don't know yet. >> terrified. glad i live with my boyfriend. this is a really nice

neighborhood. there's university afternoon three streets away. never been worried or anything to walk around at night. >> reporter: right now, police believe this was an isolated incident. but they are going to compare this crime to other crimes similar in nature to see if there is a connection. they also want to see if this is related to the recent gropings of women that have been taking place in palo alto. police point out the woman who was attacked this morning did everything right by screaming, fighting back, calling 911. they believe that's what saved her from further harm. reporting live here in palo alto, bob redell, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, bob. in san francisco now a parolee is behind bars again after a stand-off with police this morning. police say this man, malachi barton, barricaded himself inside a home in the bernal heights neighborhood after trying to run from officers. police say he hit a patrol car as he drove off. officers tracked him to the home where the stand-off began.

>> the police department's tactical team and crisis negotiators responded to the scene. perimeter was set up. when the police department made contact with that suspect, he surrendered peacefully without further incident. >> police say barton was on parole for gun violations and he has ties to san francisco gangs. how's this for a strange story? a sneezing fit being blamed for a major accident that damaged nearly a dozen cars at a used car lot in san leandro. nbc bay area's christie smith is live on the scene with the latest details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, jon. maybe it was allergies or just cold and flu season but the driver tells the chp that he just started sneezing over and over again and lost control of his own truck, hit a parked car and, well, you can see what happened next. he plowed into a used car lot. you can see the damage. that's the lot's sign laying on the hood of one of the trucks here. he tore down the fence.

the truck jumped the curb, happened early this morning. the driver hit five cars and trucks in the front row and pushed them back into a few more vehicles. he wasn't speeding when the sudden sneezing made him jerk right. he wasn't cited because how can you stop sneezing? >> we have ruled out any possibility of drugs or alcohol being involved. it is unfortunate, sneezing is not against the law. a little inattentive to his driving, i would say. >> reporter: this morning, the chp identify that had driver as 42-year-old antonio zamora of modesto. caltrans has to come soak up about 30 gallons of diesel fuel that leaked from one of the damaged trucks. the owner says she just wants to

get back to business. reporting live in san leandro, christie smith, nbc bay area news. a surearch is under way for girl considered at risk. cheyenne white walked away from a group home tuesday night. she was last seen near the intersection of international boulevard and 34th avenue. police say she has the mental capacity of a 9 to 12-year-old. anyone with information on this case should call oakland police. one of three men convicted in the now infamous kidnapping of a school bus full of children has been denied. fred woods will be eligible for patrol again in three years. woods convicted for kidnapping those students and their bus driver back in 1976 and then burying them alive in a moving van. those children and the bus driver eventually were able to dig their way out after being trapped for 16 hours before the

kidnappers could deliver a $5 million ransom demand. the patrol board said they denied his release because she's failed to take full responsibility for his role in that crime. people are bracing for the next wave of rain and wind. the next storm expected to bring with it a whole new set of problems. high winds knocking down trees all across the bay area yesterday and with the ground now saturated out there, downed trees could be more of a problem today and tomorrow. in san jose, crews there, they have the sandbags ready to roll. they've also checked all the city storm water pumps to make sure that they are in working order. for more on these coming storms, we check this with meteorologist christina loren. christina, i guess the question is, when should we expect storm number two? >> we have this unsettled pattern, jon and marla. we're already starting to see some prefrontal precipitation.

want to start with this live picture over san jose although we're mostly dry in the south bay right now. you can see this camera has a shake to it. you can tell that a storm is rolling in. this is your brief break before the heavy rain returns. we'll time that out for you. what you will notice is we have very light showers moving from north to south at this point. that's going to continue to be the case throughout the next few hours. the bulk of the moisture doesn't arrive until tonight. winds are certainly picking up especially the areas closest to that front, wind gusts in excess of 47 miles per hour from time to time. just off the coast of sonoma county. that storm system is slowly making its way towards the bay area. but it will take time before it arrives. we are concerned about our major reiss on the river. you want to watch the creeks and the streems. if you live near a creek or stream, keep your eyes on that. and make sure you have the sandbags ready to go just in case. and there are potential

hillslides and mud slides. i think locally in the metropolitan areas, quite a bit of ponding on the highways making for very dangerous driving conditions. right now, back to you two. >> christina, thanks so much. we are learning this morning that former president george h.w. bush is in a houston hospital being treated for bronchitis. the 88-year-old has been hospitalized at houston's methodist hospital for the last six days. he is in stable condition and is expected to be released within the next 72 hours. the former president has a form of parkinson's disease that affects his legs and requires him to use a wheelchair. he was previously hospitalized overnight in 2007 after a fainting spell that was caused by dehydration and hot weather while golfing in california. >> we'll wish him well and a speedy recovery. still at 11:00, california about to feel the power.

that's right. officials say it's going to pump some much-needed money into the state. and brian wilson's beard is black for now. but could it be blue next week? is he going to turn into a smurf? he may be on the move to an archrival's roster. >> who could that be? also, we'll take a look at the markets and all the other big news.

mitt romney was at the white house today for a private lunch with president obama. the president making good on an election night promise to talk with the former governor and listen to his ideas on just how to move the country forward. romney is also expected to meet with his former running mate, congressman paul ryan who is working on fiscal cliff negotiations on capitol hill. speaking of that fiscal cliff, both democrats and republicans right now still battling to try and find a

compromise. top white house negotiate easy heading to capitol hill today to keep those talks going, trying to avoid that looming deadline. tracie potts has the latest on the fight to keep your tax breaks from vanishing. >> reporter: treasury secretary tim geithner and rob nabors bring the president's deficit-cutting plan to capitol hill today. >> i'm open to a fair and balanced approach to reduce our deficit. >> reporter: republicans want to know if it includes the government spending less money. >> we put revenue on the table as long as it's accompanied by serious cuts. >> reporter: white house leaders are meeting with boehner and top republicans. at least one analyst thinks there could be a deal here. >> if i were involved in a negotiation like this and everybody was purporting to be where they are, i would say that an agreement was reachable.

>> i'm hopeful but don't put me down anywhere near optimistic. >> reporter: one conservative republican is now suggesting while negotiations continue on whether the wealthy should pay more, congress should stop tax rates from going up on the middle class now. >> we're not going to raise taxes on those people. i think we ought to go ahead and make that abundantly clear to everybody and take them out of the negotiations. >> reporter: bottom line, no deal yet. both sides are still talking. and both sides signaling that they're willing to give up something to get this done and get it done on time. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. on the international front now, happening now, palestinians are rallying today in anticipation of tonight's u.n. vote to recognize a palestinian state. there's hope in the west bank that the 193-member general assembly will accept palestine as a non-member observer state. they anticipate broad support which is more of a symbolic gesture. martin fletcher is in the region and has filed this report.

>> reporter: it's a big day in ramada on the west bank. the palestinian leaders have called for palestinian being accepted as a non-member state of the united nations. the israelis and the americans are strongly opposed to it because they say this is an end run, running around the negotiation process -- the peace process with israel. >> the only way to make life better for both israelis and palestinians is solve the issues that separate us. it's through direct peace talks. and we're ready. i frankly don't understand the palestinians, how they expect to make peace if they refuse to talk to us. >> reporter: the palestinians say it's now or never. >> we are moving ahead, as well, the u.s. and a handful of countries will find themselves on the wrong side of morality, on the wrong side of justice and on the wrong side of the law. >> reporter: one thing this does do is show the palestinian people that there is another way forward besides violence.

and this victory, if it comes to that this evening at the united nations, will be a significant step forward for the non-violent approach to the peace process. martin fletcher, nbc news, tel aviv. nasa this morning trying to cool off speculation about what the space agency will announce about mars. this after a scientist said monday's announcement right here in san francisco will be, quote, historic. scott mcgrew, the word historic always relative. >> yeah. curiosity, we were told, was going to make history. but historic to nasa scientists can be sort of obscure news to the general public. so that historic gain more and more powers as it's bounced around the echo chamber of the internet. and lots of people got very excited. we'll know monday. but you can probably put away your welcome signs for the martians. the u.s. economy grew 2.7% in the latest quarter, that's better than expected.

cisco systems says it will buy a private company in sunnyvale for about $140 million. and the u.s. secretary of the interior said a short time ago he had made a decision the drake's bay oyster company has to leave point reyes within the next 90 days. the company's lease expired at the end of the month. the area will be returned to protected wilderness. >> sounds like it's hurting marla. >> well, joe rosato, jr. did a story on that earlier this wooeng week. >> he'll have more an that tonight at 6:00. meteorologist christina loren, get ready for round two, huh? >> indeed. want to start with this video from one of our editors here at nbc bay area. shana burger sent this in. this is the san lorenzo river yesterday in the height of the storm. we already have downed trees near the river up in the santa cruz mountains and expecting

more rainfall on already saturated ground making for treacherous driving conditions. we are expecting the bulk of the moisture in the north bay. let's talk about what's happening out there. temperatures relatively mild. we are in the 60s just about everywhere. santa rosa at 57 degrees. we have the low to mid-60s just about everywhere else. a few isolated cells popping up on your radar right now. you can see we have a pretty good-looking thunderstorm cell here on highway 4. but this activity is light compared to what's coming later on this evening. take a look at this potent front creating flooding concerns from you're ra down to ft. bragg. this is what we're expecting. your first window for heavy rain opens up in the north bay through about 5:00 p.m. it gets dark around that time. by friday, the front moves to the south bay. our next round of heavy rain between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on saturday. round four arrives, 3:00 p.a.m.o

11:00 a.m. for you on sunday. let's track it for you. this front stays put up in the north bay all the way through 5:00 a.m. from 5:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. is where the heaviest moisture will be here. tomorrow morning's rush hour, san jose between 8:00 and 11:00, just getting slammed with moderate to heavy rainfall. we'll get a little bit of a break for the second half of your friday into saturday. then we get a moderate to light round of rain, that will come through saturday 9:00 to 5:00. look at what is on the way for sunday. and the biggest point that i want to make is we're also going to have gusty winds in addition to the heavy rainfall and not a lot of drying out time. let's talk about your totals, what we're expecting in your city. impressive numbers coming in, especially in the north bay where we could pick up an additional -- this is in addition to the inch we picked up yesterday. 7 inches of rain in places like santa rosa, napa expecting an additional 6 inches of rain. here in the south bay, close to 3 inches of rainfall.

our highways are not equipped to accept rain rates like this. so you really want to make sure you're traveling cautiously if you're going to be out and about around the bay area throughout the weekend in particular. good weekend to stay indoor, sit by the fire, watch a movie. monday into tuesday, we'll get a little bit of a break. but that wet and windy pattern comes right back into the forecast wednesday into thursday. before all is said and done in the isolated areas that received the most precipitation, we could be measuring it upwards of 10 inches. so we want to make sure everybody's aware of what is to come. it's going to get ugly around here through night. >> christina, thanks so much. you'll be tracking everything for us. >> always on top of it for us. how about this for a possible monumental change? we talked about the beard possibly leaving the giants. well, a new twist is here. how about brian wilson possibly winding up with the rival dodgers. >> reports that wilson wants to

return to the giants. but if not, his second choice would be the dodgers. wilson lives in l.a. in the off-season. wilson will become a free agent on friday if the giants don't offer him a contract by the 9:00 p.m. deadline. so time will tell. >> that would be heartbreaking for some giant fans including our very own christina loren. coming up at 11:00, a brand-new movie about the shooting of oscar grant about to debut at a major film festival. we'll tell you which oscar winner is slated for one of the lead roles. half a billion dollars was up for grabs almost everywhere but not here in california. but as of this morning, that is all changing. how you could walk away as the winner of the next powerball drawing.

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welcome back, everybody. the saga of the oscar grant shooting all set to be played out on the big screen. the sundance film festival announcing it will screen "fr t "fruitvale." playing his mother, octavia spencer. oscar grant will be played by michael b. jordan, from "friday night lights." the film festival all set to start off on january 17th. apple may be planting roots in santa clara. the tech company is breaking ground on a mini campus just north of stevens creek boulevard. it's a stone's throw away from cupertino. the site will reportedly have two buildings and house 1,200 or more workers. apple is custom-building the

campus slated to be done in mid 2014. apple has outgrown space in cupertino and has expanded into sunnyvale. booming. when we return, even though you weren't able to get in on that $580 million powerball jackpot, you might be able to do the next one right here in california. the decision that could mean big bucks for california lottery players.

at least two people are waking up this morning as multimillionaires. >> neither of them are us. >> the next powerball millionaire could be you. >> just about an hour ago, the california state lottery commission announcing it will adopt regulations to join the 42 other states that already participate in the powerball lottery. retailers can begin selling the $2 tickets starting in april of next year. if you're curious, two winning tickets were sold in last night's richest powerball

jackpot ever. one of those tickets in arizona. one in missouri. they both matched all six numbers. the winners will split nearly $580 million for that jackpot. >> not bad. california officials say adding the sales will add an additional $90 million to $120 million into revenue for the state. >> worth risking two bucks. i'd do it. >> thanks so much for being with us. join us at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00. what are you doing there?

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